


cold water and salted air

by AnnoyingBeardMentality



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Game, F/M, Humanstuck, for once fef isnt the mermaid, merman sollux, possibly some sexy times
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-06 11:41:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12210582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnoyingBeardMentality/pseuds/AnnoyingBeardMentality
Summary: The ocean always called to her, luring her to its cold waters. She liked to think that there was some sort of spiritual connection to it, why she longed for the ebb and flow and the salted air.The bluffs are his only safe haven, protecting him from the dangers of fishermen and predators. He rarely wanted to stray too far lest it may be the last outing he has, paranoia is a close friend of his.





	1. siren song

Painted toes inched closer to the edge, cautious, but wanting, approaching the line where grass broke off into air and sea. Closer was all she wanted, closer to the soft whispers and crashes from the ocean. Closer to the siren song that was the sea. 

Clouds obscured what was supposed to be a sunny day, bringing back the usual chill that the coastline held, casting the ocean into a grey metallic behemoth, it's appearance slightly more intimidating than calming today. That doesn't seem to affect her too much though, scooting a bit closer to the edge, inhaling that intoxicating salty tasting air. The only thing she's focusing on is that sound, the shushing of the ocean drowns out her thoughts as the wind picks at her long hair, brushing it over her shoulders and behind her, caressing her skin in its cold embrace. Her eyes are focused on the horizon line that splits sky from the sea, not really searching for anything, just...admiring. She comes here often, just to admire the sea in all her glory. Counting the dots on the sea that are fishermen's ships and watching for the possibility of a whale swimming by, though that latter one isn't something that happens often.

 It's always been like this.

Driving up here after school, just to unwind and relax. 

Feferi longed for the sea, but it wasn't like she couldn't just go down to the beaches and go for a swim (that was generally ill-advised, considering the numerous rocks and treacherous cliffs), but there was something more. She just...wanted to be there, by the ocean. It was where she was content. A few chance times she had gone out on her friend's family boat and went out for the day, a trip of which she loved, but that was just about it. The sea called for her, but she didn't know for what. Swimming around was all just fine and great, but it was like it was calling her closer, a song that she couldn't quite understand the lyrics to but wanted to sing along.

Behind her glasses, her eyes looked back out to the ocean, letting out another deep sigh. It was meditative to simply be out here, toeing the physical line between solid ground and the net that was air and water. But she was smart enough not to simply jump in. It was a far drop, and the rocks at the bottom did not seem promising for a good time. And it took her a little while to process that someone was vocalizing this to her.

Turning to look over her shoulder, she glanced over at one of her friends from school, Eridan. He was...probably the epitome of stereotypes about where they lived. Part of her was certain that if you looked up 'hipster', Eridan would be one of the first results to come up. 

"One day you're going to fall off from here," he sighed, folding his arms and leaning against one of the many trees that flecked the landscape. 

Glancing down, she noted just how close she was to the edge of the cliffs and took a step back before returning her gaze to Eridan, "I haven't yet!" 

Eridan was...exhausting at times. Sure, he was there for her when she needed him to be, but there were often times where she could really use a break from him. A lot of his burdens became her burdens, or at least he spoke in a way that made it seem as such. He always had a problem on his metaphorical plate whenever she spoke to him, and it made it hard to spend time with him sometimes. But they had been friends since they were kids, and part of her was reluctant to turn him loose for that very reason. 

Adjusting her wire-framed glasses, she turned her back to the sea and began to make her way over to him, picking up her shoes from the grass. "If you wanted to hang out, you could've just texted me," she added, her tone still sweet and bubbly as it always was. Sometimes it came across as sarcastic and rude, but that really wasn't what she was going for. Feferi just tried to keep positive about a lot of things, it was too easy to get swept up in anger and other bitter emotions. Sure, a side-effect to that was bottling everything that wasn't sunshine and rainbows up and stowing it away, but there wasn't often of a time for that to be unleashed. 

She leaned against the same tree as Eridan before moving to awkwardly stand on one leg to maneuver her foot back into her shoe, as she listened to the familiar warble to his accented voice, "I was just worried that you finally tripped and fell over the edge and had to make sure for myself that you were alright." In truth, he knew this was where he could almost always find her whenever she went missing, and she didn't have the best habits of returning texts whenever she was out here.

"You worry about me too easily, I'm fine!" the brunette then straightened up, done pulling back on her shoes, "And I'll be sure to give you a call whenever I do end up drowning, just to give you a heads up," she joked idly before stretching slightly. Admittedly, she was a little miffed that her sea-viewing session was interrupted, but she could always come back another time. She knew the path to this place like the back of her hand, it wasn't difficult to access. 

"Fine, maybe then I'll have to actually go and rescue you," he replied, his borderline chivalrous tone laced with something almost flirtatious. She'd rather not think about it, no offense to him.

Pushing off the tree, the two make their way back down the dirt path towards the road, and she pauses for a moment, casting one last glance to the sea, before following him down the path, a silent promise to return at another time.

* * *

 The Peixes family hold a lot of influence in the small Oregon town.

Living in a large home relatively secluded from the rest of the cluster of buildings that is the small town of Alternia, the Peixes family live contently. A small family of three, all women, raised to be fiercely independent. Ms. Peixes, a widow whose husband died of strange circumstance, owned more than half of the businesses in town, as well as an entire empire of baking goods, and she took care of her girls well enough. More often than not she was out of town for business trips, but when she was in town, she sort of hovered around her daughters, wanting them to be the same business mogul as she had become. Though unfortunately for her, neither of them were particularly interested in such. The eldest daughter, Meenah Peixes, could often be found around town spending time with her girlfriend. The duo was an interesting pair but fit together well. Feferi liked to think that they were a really cute couple. As for Feferi, she simply wanted to do her own thing and be happy. One day move out and have a home next to the beach, who knows, maybe she'll even move to California. It wouldn't be that far of a move. She just wasn't very interested in what her mother wanted her to be in life. 

Feferi just wanted to be happy and by the sea, She didn't want to command a business empire, she wanted to bask in the warmth of the afternoon sun and feel the ocean breeze card it's gentle fingers through her hair. She had simple wants that sometimes felt so unattainable.

The following days were cut from the same cloth as the rest, the same routine, with few instances where she was lured back out by the ocean, let it be back to the cliffs where she'd balance on the edge or the docks in town where she'd sometimes stumble across Vriska with her family boat. But those instances were few and far between, which was relatively disappointing. But life sometimes didn't have time for the simple pleasures of life. Junior year of high school was a bitch, and she was also in the process of looking for a job (though she tended to simply not apply so she could have more free time). The skinny of it was, she was a busy gal and sometimes the ocean had to wait.

And so it did.

But the siren call was still there, singing it's silent and sweet tunes to her, occasionally luring her into its rocky shores, where she was often whisked back to reality by Eridan, who seemed to be determined to keep her grounded. But she'd listen to it through an open window, the ebb and flow of the ocean, calling out to her.


	2. storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up! There's some depictions of injuries in this chapter! Nothing over the top, but ya boi's hurt.

Music thrummed throughout the Peixes home, soothing, relaxed, something she could focus with.

Pushing her hair over her shoulder, dexterous fingers tapped on the keyboard of a laptop that sat on her cluttered desk. Feferi wasn't horribly busy at the moment, just switching between homework and talking to one of her friends. But she was home alone again, her mother still on a business trip in Maine and her sister spending the night at Aranea's house again. She didn't mind though, this happened relatively often. It was nice to have time to herself too, even if it could sometimes feel like too much of it. Sitting in silence felt overwhelming, so she played her music and kept all of her windows open to let in the sea breeze through her window. The room was a bit of a mess, but hey, she never claimed to be an organized person. Papers sat stacked on the back corner of her desk, as pens sat in an array of colors were scattered across over her desk. Books from previous class assignments were stacked haphazardly on the shelf above the desk, as well as a dusty reading lamp. Pressed in the corner of her room was an unmade bed, drowned in colorful pillows, and across from that, sitting atop her dresser, was a large fish tank that served as home for her cuttlefish, also known as her pride and joy. 

Currently, as she sat at her desk, she leaned back into the cushioned desk chair comfortably. She was swapping between typing out messages to her friend Kanaya, listening to her talk about a certain Rose Lalonde she was head over heels for, and annotating her copy of The Crucible. Kanaya was currently telling her about a conversation she had with Rose in their shared chemistry class, and it was so tempting for Feferi to make a joke about how the two had chemistry in chemistry, but she resisted for the time being. Instead, she occasionally flicked her brown eyes up from her book to watch as the green text appeared on her screen. She considered Kanaya a close friend. Granted, they hadn't known each other for as long as she had known Eridan, having only met her Sophomore year of high school, but she was really easy to talk to, which she enjoyed. Listening to her go on and on about how amazing Rose was...well, it made her wish that she had someone who would talk about her like that. While Feferi didn't actively seek out a romantic relationship, she did let her mind wander from time to time to think about what it would be like to have that.

And Feferi was all too aware that Eridan would gladly fill that void for her. But he was so draining. Not so much as physically, but emotionally. Almost every time that she spent time with him, he would bring all of his problems, seeming to want her to come up with solutions to them. It was tiring, and it made her horribly frustrated at times. But she's known him since they were just little kids, and he had her back when she needed him to be, even if he was an exhaustion to be around sometimes. So, she was hesitant to cut him off. Not to mention, he was one of the few friends that her mom 'approved' of. A stamp of approval that she frankly thought was ridiculous but kept that little thought to herself. 

As she highlighted a line about a certain Abigail Williams in her book, she blinked in slight confusion when a speck of water landed on her page and looked up and out the window, her thumb wiping away the droplet before it could ruin the ink.

Outside, the clouds were dark and swirling and the sounds of the ocean ramming itself into the cliff side roaring. Rain began to fall through her windows, speckling the blankets on her bed with water as she jumped to her feet, "Crap," she breathed, striding over to her window and closing them against the wind that was now gusting through it. With a little struggling, she managed to slam it shut before scrambling to the one that was by her bed, bringing the covers and pillows on her bed to already becoming steadily damper as the rain continued to pour. Sliding that one shut, she huffed, pushing some hair out of her face before staring out the window.

The storm had hit pretty quickly, with hardly other warnings besides the clouds. She wasn't super concerned about it doing any significant damage, the worst she could imagine it doing was stripping a lot of the trees of their leaves outside. Or it evolving into a thunderstorm. But as she looked outside, she couldn't see that signature flash of lighting, or hear the rumble of thunder overhead.

Leaning her forehead against the cold glass, she could faintly hear the ocean rearing its head and the waves pummeling against the coastline. She could hear it through her window, shouting out to her through the wind. The Peixes estate was close the cliffs, with a trail that lead down to a rocky beach laden with sea caves. On the off chance that she actually had time, Feferi would go down there to collect shells, resulting in the impressive collection that sat on her night table. Maybe there would be some neat shells washed up from the storm once it passed. The brunette soon found herself making plans to head down there once it cleared up until suddenly the ping of another message snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned back to the glowing computer monitor at her desk. Right, Kanaya was still there.

  
GA: Feferi?  
  
GA: Are You Still There?  
  
CC: Yeah!  
  
CC: Sorry for leaving you )(anging like t)(at! T)(e storm just )(it by my )(ouse.  
  
GA: Oh, Are You Alright? Is Meenah Home With You Tonight?  
  
CC: Nope, not tonig)(t. But I'll be fine!  
  
GA: Alright...If You Need Anything, Give Me A Call.

Oh Kanaya, she was such a good friend. Feferi knew that she didn't entirely approve of her spending so much time home alone, but she could really handle herself! Having somebody genuinely worry about her was nice, though. Sometimes she felt like Kanaya mothered her more than her own mother did, but it was a sweet sentiment, for her friend to hope she's alright. Situated back at her desk, her book now sat closed next to her keyboard as she read the conversation, in the process of typing out a response until another message appeared on the screen.

  
GA: Oh No.   
  
CC: W)(at?  
  
GA: Rose Is Calling Me.  
  
CC: OOOOOO)(-!!  
  
CC: Answer it!  
  
CC: I can wait!  
  
GA: Ok. I'll Get Back To You When I'm Done, Alright?  
  
CC: Of course!! Good luck!  
  
grimAuxiliatrix [GA] ceased trolling cuttlefishCuller [CC] 

Leaning back in her chair, she sighed a bit. Aw, she was proud of Kanaya. She knows she's been crushing on Rose for some time, she only wishes the best for those two. Feferi couldn't help but hope that Kanaya would talk to her after she was done talking to Rose, though. Especially with the storm raging outside her window, she could feel unease slipping into her core, the realization of how alone she was gradually sinking in. With a deep breath, she reached over to the record player her music flowed from and turned it up before spinning her desk chair a bit and facing the window. Rain tapped against the windowpane, raindrops scattering across the glass, before streaking down and out of sight. It was just a storm, she had been through worse.

Besides, what's the worst it could possibly do?

* * *

Among the dark and seething waters, alight by the sliver of moonlight that could be seen behind the dark clouds, a figure twisted and turned beneath the waves, pushed around without any control or anchorage.

Net burned into his tail as he's whipped back down against the sand, the force shoving some in his mouth before tossing him back up with the heave of the wave, his swimming knocked horribly off course as he struggled to figure out which way was up and which was down. 

The ocean was pitch black, and abrasions from being thrown into the sand and stone marked up his body, and it certainly didn't help that an old discarded net had gotten tangled up in his long fin. His mouth hurt, probably from a chipped tooth or two, and the ocean was hardly giving him a chance to even assess the situation, especially with the ocean throwing a fit alongside the storm. He could hardly see anything and knew even less about where he was. At the very least, he was lucky his gills hadn't gotten clogged with sand yet as suffocating would be probably one of the least ideal ways to go out right now. All he needed to do was find somewhere to lay low and wait out the storm, as well as assess the damage he had taken all over. 

But he could hardly even keep his thoughts straight as his back was rammed against another stone. The current then rolled him further, wedging his waist in between the boulder and the one next to him. On the bright side, he now was able to stop being thrown around in the ocean and could assess his situation. On the downside, he had to get a move on unless he wanted to become bait to any predators. 

Taking a few breaths, he looked up at the surface, hardly able to detect the sliver of moonlight that reflected off of the surface. He wasn't in completely shallow water, only about four feet deep. He then looked over his shoulder, where the water got rapidly shallower where the land turned upwards. But looking around it, it seemed to be just an outcropping against the cliff side that got shallower. A sea cave. He hoped that it had enough water to keep him wet for the time being, but away from the deeper end of the water where predators could get him. Perfect. Discolored eyes looked down at his waist, where a heavy dark scarlet oozed from his side. He might need more than just a night to lay low and recuperate. 

Placing both of his hands on both stones, he pulled himself away from the stones, further scraping his skin, but managing to dislodge himself from the boulders as he pulled himself towards the sea cave. Everything hurt, and he wasn't going to waste time trying to get that net off of his fin in the process. He would get that once he got inside the cave. Bruised fingers grabbed at the stones that lead up to the sea cave as he dragged himself along, eventually breaking the surface of the water and feeling the cold air beat against his face as he moved along. He could feel the scales being dislodged on his tail, but the most important thing to him right now was getting somewhere stable enough to where he could patch himself up. 

As a wave crashed at the mouth of the cave, the merman pulled himself further inside with a grunt, before collapsing onto his chest and resting his head against the pebbles on the ground. He was exhausted, he was in pain, and he really hated his habitat sometimes. But, he was safe, and that was what mattered most right now.

Hand shifting and moving down to hold his side, he let his eyes flutter shut as the sounds of the raging ocean gradually began to lull him to sleep, exhaustion having it's way with him as he gradually relaxed against the stones on the floor of the sea cave. He had had a long day, and while his body was just about littered with injuries, nothing was fatal enough to kill him, not just yet. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sollux: *drags his mangled self up to the beach* hey whats up guys

**Author's Note:**

> So here we go! Sorry for the short take off, chapters will more than likely get bigger from here on out. 
> 
> If you're interested in ever asking me questions or anything, I've got a new tumblr: ciiros.tumblr.com
> 
> Otherwise, hope you enjoyed it! I'm going to try to update once a week, though considering that life's a bitch, it may be a bit more sporadic than that.


End file.
